Chicago Deli & Restaurant — Restaurant in Solon

I recently had lunch at Chicago Deli located south of Aurora Road/State Route 43. The Chicago Deli is located at the east side of Solon Village shopping plaza. The signs at entrances of the plaza - one entrance off Aurora Road and the entrance off SOM Center Road - prominently lists Solon Market District. I saw no signage calling out Solon Village. There is plenty of free off-street parking in the shopping plaza and in front of Chicago Deli.

First, I have to call out this small business for their great practice of hiring a diverse staff - truly a rainbow of diversity. Kudos to the ownership demonstrating that a small successful business only benefits by hiring good people! Well done!

This is a clean, efficiently run restaurant. The Men's Room is clean. The restaurant has a dining area and a separate section for take-away customers. The owner walks the entire restaurant greeting all diners. The servers are friendly and attentive to each and every customer.

The seating in the dining are consists of tables and booths plus limited outside seating on the sidewalk in front of Chicago Deli. There are Plexiglass partitions between the booths. After the table is cleaned and sanitized after being vacated by the customers, a lamented sign is placed on the table confirming it has been sanitized and is ready for the next customer.

Chicago Deli serves ample portions for each item. I enjoyed a bowl of the Firehouse Chili and the Hot Romanian Pastrami Sandwich on Rye bread served with a Kosher pickle. The Rye bread has a hardy flavor. The Pastrami meat is flavorful with some distinctive spices and served warm. The chili is thick and tasty and served with Oyster crackers.

I had unsweetened ice tea as my beverage. Chicago Deli offers traditional Deli beverages such as Chocolate Phosphate, milkshakes, and assorted Dr. Brown's brand of sodas. Chicago Deli has an extensive menu of lunch and dinner items plus daily specials. They serve beer and wine too. The desserts in the take-away display case...

My father-in-law is a senior citizen with a service animal. His service dog is trained to recognize symptoms of his disability and alert him to them. Today the staff allowed my father-in-law and my daughter to sit down with the dog and look through the menu before storming over and telling them to show papers or leave. Apparently in those very words.

I fully understand that there are people who abuse the service animal designation, and it is despicable. However, that does not negate the fact that it is 100% against the law to ask to see paperwork (or in this case rudely demand to see it) or ask what the disability is. Businesses are allowed to ask what service the animal performs, and that would have been fine. Instead, the waitress and another male employee decided to take the confrontational road instead. When my daughter spoke up for her grandfather and cited the fact that it is illegal to ask for paperwork, the male employee smugly replied, “I’m sorry that you feel that way.” She said that the waitress refused to talk to her at all.

What was meant to be a nice afternoon lunch for a grandfather and his granddaughter will now be remembered for the nasty experience they had because of two people with no sense of decency or compassion for those with disabilities. This is unacceptable. I will be sharing this experience with the Attorney General’s Office, in hopes that no one else will suffer the humiliation that my father-in-law and daughter suffered today because of the staff at Chicago Deli. Knowing what kind of people they are (apparently these are newer owners. It seems like the last ones were wonderful), I wouldn’t recommend this place if it were the last source of food on earth. There are far too many other great dining options in the Solon area to spend your money where this is the customer...

Update- Feb 2023. I've decided to stop coming here weekly soley on the reason that an older man walks around and intrudes on our meal.

Soliciting complements while his staff do the real work while he bumbles around and actively gets in the way.

He INAPPROPRIATELY CROSSES THE TOUCH BARRIER.

If you want to eat here and need the attention of one of the apparent owners to feel special, then feel free.

But he is incapable of reading body language and KEEPING HIS HANDS TO HIMSELF.

I have nothing to say when he comes walking around, and yet he still decides to INVADE MY PERSONAL SPACE. Not respecting my obvious discomfort in his presence, he does not respect BOUNDARIES.

I don't care if others want to feel like family when they go here. I DON'T. I am not family to him, I do not know you.

DO NOT TOUCH PEOPLE YOU DO NOT KNOW.

He's done this at least 3 times, and every time, he is CREEPY AND AWKWARD.

Owner - Do not attempt to contact me regarding this issue like you have done to previous comments.

It is pathetic that you need customer validation constantly. You make it weird and have no understanding of how or when to engage in social contact.

Go home and collect the fortune your staff brings in for you and stop touching strangers. Previous review

Left an IHOP nearby for no service and dirty tables. But this place is so clean and friendly, and...